


StarUryuu Valley

by AlphaRaposa



Category: Bleach, Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Cute ball of stubborn spite, Pre-teen Uryuu, The adults are so worried about him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-30
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:47:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23389765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlphaRaposa/pseuds/AlphaRaposa
Summary: When Ishida Soken died, an overlooked part of his will left an envelope to his grandson, Ishida Uryuu. When Uryuu finds that he can no longer stand living with his father Ryuuken, he opens it.And thus begins an adventure.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 52





	1. Small Beginnings

Uryuu was suffocating. This house, this routine was a noose around his neck, slowly cutting off his air.

He wanted to make something. His fingers itched for cloth and thread, even as he shied away from the reminder of that night’s debacle. Shouting, at first, then arguments hissed in deadly even voices. In the end, silent stares and impasse. A contest of wills. Uryuu prided himself in continuing the family tradition, a Quincy whose will was a weapon shaping constructs of pure energy, and yet he was the one who turned away, who fled to his room to hide among his things.

At twelve years old, Uryuu was still no match in stubbornness for his father, Ryuuken.

Thinking only of escape, Uryuu turned to the books in his room, restlessly examining covers and discarding them. Some he’d read too often. Some were too dry. Others too fantastical. The German one, he needed more time and a clearer head to tackle the only semi-familiar language.

An envelope slipped out of the book in his hand to the floor. Surprised, Uryuu picked it up and turned it over. His breath caught.

The letter, the one his grandfather had left him in his will. That had been delivered with the note to save it, to open it when he needed a change.

If ever Uryuu needed a change, it was now.

* * *

_ Dear Uryuu, _

_ If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life... real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong. _

_ I’ve enclosed the deed to that place: Ishida Farm. It’s located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours. I know you’ll honor the family name. Good luck. _

_ Love, Ishida Soken _

_ P.S. They use European name order there, you’ll get used to it. If Lewis is still alive, say hello to the old man for me. _

* * *

Uryuu stepped off the bus and looked up at the red-headed woman in front of him. She looked back with dubious eyes, but stepped forward anyway.

“Uryuu Ishida?”

He nodded.

She smiled at him as if he were a child and not practically a teenager. “Hello, I’m Robin! I have a carpentry shop in town. I’ve fixed up the old cabin on Ishida farm for you. Follow me!”

Uryuu noticed her worried glances back as he followed and ignored them. It didn’t matter. Anything was better than living in Karakura with Ryuuken.

* * *

Mayor Lewis did a double-take when he walked out of the cabin and spotted the new Ishida farmer. To be out on his own, at that age! Surely there were parents? A guardian? But the boy simply shrugged off a careful inquiry. Lewis bantered a bit with Robin, questions racing through his mind. But the paperwork had been proper. The deed was in Uryuu’s name. And while a legal guardian could have kept him away another year or two at least, nobody had.

_ To be on his own so young, _ thought Lewis.  _ I’d better keep an eye on him. Especially with  _ this  _ farm. _

There were reasons nobody else had ever tried to buy that land.

* * *

The house was, well, “rustic” was the polite way of saying no amenities beyond the old television plugged into the corner. No fridge. No stove. Uryuu would be cooking over a campfire or buying food.

He didn’t have a lot of savings for buying, so camping out it was.

No matter. He’d manage.

Somebody left him some seeds to plant, so Uryuu started with the basics. Clear land, plant seeds according to the directions on the packet. Then he chopped away at the weeds and scrub around the farm until his arms felt rubbery.

It was good, in a way. Sure, Ryuuken had thought he’d give up in a week, go back to the easy life in Karakura, but Uryuu felt satisfaction in the burning of his limbs. Even when he’d trained as much as he dared, he’d never  _ worked  _ like this before. And the farm itself felt warm and full of spiritual energy, a comfort to his tired body.

Still, he couldn’t push himself any farther today and it was barely noon. With nothing else to do, he supposed he could wander around town and get acquainted with the place. Introductions, ugh. But at least he ought to find out where the shops were.

* * *

Uryuu soon discovered that he badly needed a new backpack. He simply couldn’t carry enough on his own. He wove crates out of the sticks he’d found on the farm, organizing what he’d found that way, but that didn’t help him bring home the precious foraged foods he discovered along the mountain path or in the forest.

And, like an answer to a prayer, a letter appeared in his mailbox the next morning advertising a backpack. For more than twice the funds he had now.

Uryuu narrowed his eyes and decided that was his first goal. And he supposed he’d go visit the fisherman who wanted to talk to him. If he could supplement his diet with fish, he’d be a lot healthier. And maybe he could sell the rest. It was a plan, at least. Not a great plan, but he wouldn’t starve.

He wasn’t going back. Never going back.

* * *

There was a book buried in the sand at the beach.

_ There was a book buried in the sand at the beach. _

Uryuu could feel his eye twitching.

* * *

The museum curator, Gunthor, was not only delighted to care for and properly shelve the book once it was cleaned up, he offered Uryuu a small finder’s fee!

Uryuu resolved to come back to the museum/library often. After all, there wasn’t exactly a school here, but he didn’t really want to fall behind even if he wasn’t planning to go on to medical school as his father wished.

And there was something comforting about the quiet weight of books around him. He greeted the people he met in passing, polite words and nods, but he couldn’t help feeling they all looked down on him. Like some  _ child _ .

The books didn’t judge him. Didn’t fret over him or disapprove of him. And some of them were even helpful. After a couple of hours thumbing through guides on local edible plants and fishing tips, Uryuu felt something more than sheer spiteful determination. It was a relief tinged with hope.

He could do this. He really could. All it would take is hard work and research.


	2. Disturbing the Wildlife

_Uryuu Ishida,_ Mayor Lewis thought, _reacts to people the same way a feral cat does._ If the grouchy pre-teen had hissed at him instead of muttering barely polite responses, Lewis wouldn't have been surprised. Really, it hadn’t been that long since Sebastian had gone through a similar phase. It was a teenage thing, he supposed.

Since just talking to the kid yielded no results, Lewis took to quietly peeking in the window when he picked up items from the chest for sale at night. So far, Uryuu was always there, a ball of boy curled up in a rickety old bed. The pickup chest itself wasn’t ever very full, but the kid was managing to turn up enough fresh plants and fish to make the trip out to the cabin worth it. The money Lewis left seemed paltry, but the town couldn’t afford more than wholesale prices to reimburse a farmer.

At least he could make sure the kid was safe at night.

Maybe he could check the old development fund again, see if there was any extra cash there. And ask Marlon if the mines were properly locked up. He shuddered to think of a twelve-year old down among the weird creatures in there.

* * *

Lewis wasn’t the only person in town fretting over Uryuu. Marnie was losing sleep, thinking of the poor kid all by himself on that farm. Even if he didn’t have a parent with him, nobody should be alone all the time.

It was like fate when she noticed the grey kitty hanging around. It was easy enough to catch, like it knew people already (she supposed Jas and Vincent could have been feeding it, the little scamps).

Uryuu looked at it like he was being presented with one of Leah’s sculptures. He didn’t seem to know what to do with an animal, but he did accept it.

“Cats aren’t that much work,” the boy muttered. “I guess.. It’s spring, I’ll name him Haru.”

Marnie petted Haru and told him to be good for Uryuu, then left him to it.

* * *

Uryuu wasn’t sure why people were so invested in giving him things. It’s not like he _needed_ the help. He didn’t. But the cat was soft and quiet. After another day of trying to fight back the weeds to clear more space on the farm, it was nice to pet soft grey fur and listen to the purr.

He’d never had a pet before. Ryuuken considered them a waste of time. But according to Ryuuken, this whole farm was a waste of time. What was one more thing?

Uryuu buried his face in a belly full of fur, eyes burning. Haru objected with a mewl, rolling away from the press of glasses, then began to knead at Uryuu’s hair with his paws.

It was such an absurd thing for the cat to do that Uryuu found himself smiling.

* * *

The change in the farm was subtle enough that Uryuu thought he was imagining it at first. But no, the nights really were colder around the cabin than they were in town. And the longer he stayed, the more it felt like there were eyes on him at night, whether he was out trying to get just a few more meters of ground cleared, or inside thumbing through a guide on planting seasons.

He wasn’t even there a week when he found himself standing on the porch, peering into the darkness. Haru was inside already, curled up on the bed. As much as Uryuu wanted to join the cat, he also wanted to know what was out there.

Uryuu was a Quincy, damn it. He wasn’t going to be scared away by a spooky chill in the air.

Something rustled in the grass. Quickly, Uryuu shook out the little Quincy cross on a chain around his wrist and summoned a bow and arrow of pure energy around it.

When the grass itself formed up into a roughly human shape and began to lumber his way, he released the arrow on instinct. It squeaked in pain, stumbled, then came on again.

Uryuu fumbled for a moment, but summoned another arrow. Then another. Then another. Every one hit home on the slow creature, right in the face. It barely slowed the thing down; it was nearly at his doorstep, now.

With trembling fingers, Uryuu summoned and fired an arrow once more, and a pile of grass clippings collapsed at his feet with a sigh. His heart pounded. That was too close.

A chill wind suddenly plucked at his hair and clothes. More of the grass rustled.

Two more of the weird humanish bundles stood up, accompanied by three bright green blobs with glowing eyespots.

Uryuu shivered. It took _five_ shots to take down one of the weird creatures. He didn’t have the time or room to fight them all. He turned around, wrenched open the door and jumped inside the cabin, slamming the door shut behind himself. Haru bristled on the bed, back arched as the cat stared at the window, and soon the door and walls began to rattle from heavy blows.

He was trapped. He was going to _die_. Here, on a farm with only a cat to mourn him.

And then he heard the thunk of a blade hitting wood followed by squelching noises, and the beating against the walls of the cabin ceased.

Someone knocked at the door. Uryuu took a deep breath, and paid attention to the energies around himself.

Whoever it was, they didn’t feel like a monster. That didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous, though. Uryuu opened the door just a crack and peeked.

* * *

Marlon had heard the new farmer was young, but Lewis hadn’t said he was _scrawny_. It wouldn’t take more than a stiff shove to push his way in, bad leg or no bad leg. But that wasn’t why he was there.

“You alright, kid?”

The kid puffed up instantly. “I’m not a kid,” he said, tipping his chin up defiantly.

Marlon eyed the kid with his good eye. “Well, you don’t have a beard so you’re not a dwarf,” he observed. “And you’re not a shadow beast, either. So I guess you must have shrunk in the wash.”

That got him even more bristling and almost a growl. Marlon just kept his gaze steady and waited. Eventually, the brat deflated again.

“I’m fine.”

Marlon nodded. “Good. Don’t know what got them all stirred up, but you might want one of these.” And he offered the pint-sized sword he’d brought with him just for this purpose.

The kid bristled again. “I’m a Quincy. We’re archers.”

Ah. “So that’s what it was.” Marlon sighed. “Kid, I don’t know why. If you talked to Rasmodius he’d go on about the mystic energies of the forest for about an hour and probably not explain anything while he was at it. But we had this problem with the last farmer who lived here. For some reason, killing these forest critters with those shiny arrows makes the rest of ‘em mad as wet hens.”

The expressions on the kid’s face told Marlon that, even as a pint-sized squirt, _he_ knew what Marlon was talking about. It rankled, a bit, but an experienced adventurer didn’t always need to know the whys, just the hows.

“Who’s Rasmodius?”

“Oh, that’s just the wizard who lives in the forest. He’ll probably take note of you sooner or later. Sooner if you keep pissing off the wildlife.” Marlon offered the sword again. “Take the sword. From what I understand, you just have to finish them off with it. And it’ll do you good to have a close-in weapon if you get cornered. If you want to get in some practice, try the mines. There’s critters down there, but there’s some good ore, too. And the guild gives a bounty if you kill enough of the creatures in it.”

Reluctantly, the kid accepted the sword through the barely open door. “There’s a guild?”

Marlon nodded. “An adventurer’s guild. There’s a building near the entrance to the mines. Since my leg injury, I don’t get around as much as I used to, so I help man the place.” He offered a hand to shake. “Name’s Marlon.”

The kid stared at it for a moment before accepting that, too. “Ishida. Uryuu Ishida.”

Marlon nodded again. “Give ‘em hell, Ishida, and stay safe out there.” And he left.

The door made a soft click as it closed behind him.

* * *

A wizard? Really? And an _Adventurer’s Guild_. Sure, this place was kind of off in its own little world, but really?

  
Uryuu still found he somewhat approved of the one-eyed adventurer. Marlon may have called him a kid, but he didn’t _treat_ him like one. The pre-teen looked dubiously at the chipped sword in his hand and decided he’d at least get a full night’s sleep before trying anything with it.


	3. Training

Uryuu spent a restless night, tossing and turning and unable to get much sleep. He finally gave up when the sun peeked through his windows and decided he needed to train and get stronger. If the mines were where he could practice, then that was where he would go.

After he took care of the crops. Which were ripe. He pulled parsnips free and looked at the empty soil, then sighed. He needed to keep growing more crops. Which meant he needed more seeds. He’d already managed enough money for the backpack, so his next goal was to afford to have Robin add a kitchen to the house and patch the cracks in the walls. That meant following the plan he’d worked out on what to plant and when. So.

He’d just go to the store first,  _ then  _ to the mines.

* * *

Uryuu’s trip to the store was interrupted by Mayor Lewis calling him over to a dilapidated building on the north side of town. It creaked in the wind, and both Uryuu and Lewis had to shove together to open the door.

Inside, though, Uryuu caught his breath. Lewis was rambling on about how it was falling apart and what a shame it was, how the old community center just wasn’t appreciated anymore. The mayor looked at a little mud hut and blamed it on some of the town’s kids.

But Uryuu looked at the mud hut and could  _ feel  _ colors around it. He wasn’t even using any technique- the spiritual energies were so strong there that the room practically shimmered.

A little round spirit appeared and then disappeared again. Eyes narrowed, Uryuu asked if there were rats in the building. The mayor seemed to agree that was a possibility, so offered to leave the building unlocked if Uryuu would try to clear them out.

The twelve-year-old Quincy agreed immediately. He really wanted to be left alone to find out what was going on here.

And miracle of miracles, Lewis left.

The mines forgotten, Uryuu took a moment to visualize, calling forth the spiritual energies of the area into ribbon-like fields running through his fingers. He found himself holding a rainbow in his hand.

Some were white, of course. Humans were white. No red, and he breathed a sigh of relief. (Red was for Shinigami, and they couldn’t be trusted.) The purple, black, and brown ones puzzled him. One of the white ones was tinged purple, too. But most of the ribbons were shades of green, draped across the room and tied into the mud hut or stretched out as if to reach through the entire valley.

He didn’t know what any of it meant, not yet, but he decided that he wanted to find out.

* * *

The library had nothing about spiritual beings in it, not even children’s stories, but several books were still missing so it’s possible that the knowledge was lost. Deliberately lost? Uryuu was still mad about the book he’d found on the beach. Maybe somebody had trashed the place on purpose, to hide something.

With a bit of a snarl, Uryuu resolved to try to fix that situation. But it still left him without leads. He read until the late afternoon, then headed for the mines while there was still some daylight left. Once there, he paused to call forth the spirit ribbons again.

The brown ribbon stretched right through an odd rock wall, a lumpy stone that looked out of place but didn’t yield to an ordinary pickaxe. Uryuu hit it once to test it then left it alone, hoping he hadn’t just tried to break into somebody’s house. The other ribbons all led back outside. In a way, that was a relief. That probably meant nothing in the mines was sentient.

Uryuu climbed down the ladder and poked around the first level. There were only a few odd creatures- more of the squishy green ‘slimes’ and a thing that disguised itself as a rock but had crab legs. The chipped sword wasn’t very effective, but he could snipe at the creatures from a distance, then finish them off with the blade. He found some interesting rocks that looked like they had metal in them and slipped them in his pack for later, but decided against going any deeper yet. It was already late and he had seeds to plant before he went to bed.

He pushed himself hard to get back and get the seeds in the ground, and still had to kill a couple of shambling creatures before his planting was done. Having the sword was… okay. It wasn’t a great weapon, but Marlon had been right about it being easier to use in close quarters. It was tiring in a different way from the spiritual arrows he normally used, or even the chopping and digging of farm work. Everything he did seemed to require a different set of muscles.

He was dirty and tired when he finally dropped off to sleep, but he slept much more comfortably than the previous night.

* * *

The wizard sent Uryuu a letter asking him to visit.

First, Uryuu tended to his plants and wandered around town a bit to pick up some things to sell. Let the wizard wait, if he was going to just send a letter. But he didn’t take long- he wanted answers, and the library didn’t have them.

The tower was just that- a tower, overgrown with plants and hidden amid the trees. Uryuu likely wouldn’t have given it a second glance except he could  _ feel  _ the power concentrated in the place. Curious, he pulled forth the spirit ribbons again.

Hmm. It looked like maybe the wizard was purple. Or, at least, that someone with a purple ribbon was inside.

He shrugged and knocked on the door.


	4. From Junimos to Eggs

The new Quincy farmer was arrogant, as they tended to be. He was also small, much too small to contain so much sheer disdain. Rasmodius summoned and dismissed spirits, teleported away and returned with information, and the Ishida was completely unimpressed. If anything, the kid was impatient to get this over with.

While Rasmodius sometimes lamented the fear from most of the other townsfolk, there was something disappointing about being treated as  _ ordinary _ .

The kid did react to the bubbling cauldron of forest plants.

“I’m not going to drink that,” Uryuu said, curling his lip at it. “It’s the energy of the forest that I need, right? I’ll meditate.” And he sat down right there on the carpet to do so.

_ This  _ was the person from his visions? A snot-nosed,  _ rude _ kid? Ugh, Quincy. Rasmodius hoped that he wasn’t making a mistake.

* * *

Uryuu had managed to ‘become one with the forest’ by dint of taking in a fair amount of the surrounding energy, which had been disorienting at first. But after that he left the weird old wizard and returned to the community center where the little forest spirits (Rasmodius called them ‘Junimos’) showed him a golden scroll with demands on it. They wanted tribute, he guessed.

The first one was simple enough- a set of the plants that grew around town. So after some running around, Uryuu had one of each plant and gave them to the Junimos.

They conjured up more golden scrolls with more demands, but also gave him some seeds in return.

A trade? Reward?

Uryuu checked the lists of demands, and sighed. He’d need to do some research at the library to be sure, but he thought that some of the things they wanted weren’t in season yet. Even if he worked very hard, it would take months to fulfill all their requests.

On the one hand, he supposed that made it less urgent. On the other, it committed him to staying here if he really wanted to see this through, to find out what would happen. Months and months in this place, this town. It was strange how that thought made him anxious even though he hadn’t planned to go back for a while, anyway. But ‘a while’ was different from ‘at least a year’.

A year, or more.

Okay, he could do that. He could stay and work with the squeaky little Junimos.

* * *

The next few days were more or less the same. Uryuu rose, ate, tended the crops, then went to the mines or the library. He barely spoke to anyone except for the day that the blacksmith, Clint, came by to show him how to set up a furnace to turn chunks of ore into usable metal. At night he read library books in his bed, Haru purring by his side.

He got stronger. Uryuu’s arms still ached at night from swinging tools and weapons, but it was a little easier every day. He would have settled gladly into this as his normal routine, except for the letter that announced the “Egg Festival” the next day.

Uryuu was not inclined to go. He could go spend the day in the mines, instead, getting stronger and finding precious stones to sell. But he noticed decorations and people preparing all day as he walked through town to the library. It looked like  _ everyone _ in the town was going to be there.

He supposed he ought to at least see why.

* * *

The day of the Egg Festival was sunny and bright. The town square was decorated with bright buntings and flowers, and there were long tables absolutely  _ filled _ with food to share. Uryuu mostly hovered around the edges even though everybody was happy to talk to him. It was… too many people.

Pierre, the shop owner, had a stall that was mostly decorative items. Plants and stuffed animals, that sort of thing. Uryuu really didn’t need any of that. But there were also strawberry seeds, and they apparently sold for a good price when ripe.

Uryuu paused and closed his eyes to think about the last time he’d had a strawberry. He didn’t think he’d had any since before his mother died.

He bought enough seed packets to not only plant some for this year, but to have them in the ground as soon as possible next year, too.

Soon after that the purple-haired teenager, Abigail, came over and dragged him into the square for an egg hunt. Apparently, since Uryuu was not yet an adult, he was expected to participate.

Uryuu soon found himself lined up with four other youths from the town. The two really little ones, Abigail, and her blonde teen friend. He didn’t really intend to put much effort into finding eggs, but once he noticed the first it was just second nature to keep going, and by the end he had eleven eggs, more than anybody else.

His prize was a straw hat. Uryuu’s first reaction to that was to scoff, because a straw hat was the sort of thing a farmer wore.

...Which he was now, wasn’t he?

He didn’t laugh out loud, but he did smile a little and thank Mayor Lewis before putting it on. It was wide brimmed enough to shade his whole head, which meant he could use it for sun protection instead of the horribly greasy sunscreens he had to use for his fair skin.

He felt like maybe coming to the festival hadn’t been the waste of time he’d thought it would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually did make an Uryuu character in a Stardew Valley game just to play through and remember the order of all the events and how they happen. But that means I can't play more until I write to catch up to where I am on the game.
> 
> That's why you're getting chapters so quickly right now. >.>


	5. Spirits and Spooks

The day after the festival, all the town’s berry bushes seemed to fruit at once. The unexpected bounty threw off some of Uryuu’s plans as he raced around town to try to make the most of it. Even if people didn’t pay much for the berries, there were so many! It was a boon to his budget.

After two days of berry picking, Uryuu woke in the predawn light to an odd feeling, like the farm was overflowing with green and growing things. It was, in fact, getting very covered in haygrass where he’d cleared back the trees, but this seemed even more than that.

He opened the door and stopped in surprise. Half of his crops had grown overnight! They were ripe and ready to pick, including the strawberries he’d planted only two days ago.

It wasn’t a good day for this- he had berries to pick and the store was closed on Wednesdays so he couldn’t buy more seeds that day. Fortunately, he did have enough seeds to plant in the empty furrows, but those had been scheduled for later in the month and would need replacing if he used them now.

He didn’t want to complain, not really. The extra profit would speed up getting the repairs done to his cabin. It was just that all his careful garden planning for the season was thrown completely off. He’d have to redo his charts.

Uryuu shook it off and stepped down to pick one of the strawberries. It was perfectly red except for the very crown under the leaves. It tasted sweet and just a bit sour, like the best strawberries did.

The rest were for selling.

* * *

Once the berry season passed, Uryuu went back to the mines.

He was getting better, but it was  _ hard _ . Each trip left him battered and bruised and bleeding. At the end of a long day just to get a few levels deeper, he stumbled over to the Adventurer’s Guild building to see if there was anything there to make it easier.

Marlon looked Uryuu up and down as he entered, then sighed from behind the counter. “Okay kid- if you’re this determined, it’s time you got yourself a better sword.”

It wasn’t something Uryuu had budgeted for, but he did have more money now after days of berry picking and the unexpected blessing on his farm. So he bought the somewhat larger sword that the guild had to offer. It was just a wooden training sword, but its weight was solid and its reach was better. The old chipped sword was sold back to Marlon, who had a serious expression on his face but a glint in his eye.

“Okay, now I’m going to teach you how to use that,” Marlon said before stepping out of his usual spot. “Gil, hold the fort.” The only other regular at the guild, an old codger in a rocking chair, nodded to Marlon and went back to smoking his pipe.

Marlon led Uryuu around to the side of the building and took out a gleaming metal blade. “One of Clint’s,” he said. “He’s a damn fine blacksmith. Ought to get his head out of his ass and ask that Emily girl out. He’s got nothing to be ashamed of. Now.” Marlon turned his attention to Uryuu. “Like this, kid.”

Marlon was a patient teacher. He walked Uryuu through the basic forms, correcting his motions with gentle hands and foul language. It brought back memories of learning to shoot from when Uryuu was very young, though he suspected Soken wouldn’t have approved of the cursing.

The sun was well down and Uryuu should have been heading home to get to bed when he got up the courage to ask the question that’d been eating at him since the night Marlon gave him a sword. “You- how well did you know my grandfather, Soken?”

Marlon huffed a quiet laugh and shook his head. “Decent, I’d say, but he wasn’t really close to anybody. I’d guess a bit of standoffishness runs in the family.” Marlon gave Uryuu a measuring look, and Uryuu folded his arms to stand proudly. He and his grandfather were just private people, that’s all. The older adventurer chuckled.

“I was just a kid myself when he moved here, though older than you are. Spent nearly all my time crawling the mines here or in the desert. Thought I might have found a girl at one point but, well, nevermind. Not what we’re talking about tonight.” He leaned back against the side of the guildhouse. “The farm was just an ordinary farm at first, so I didn’t pay any attention to it, really, just showed up for the town festivals and sometimes nodded hello to your grandfather in passing. But there was an earthquake one night, and the next day the mines had new passages all through them. It riled up the critters inside, and some of them must have found a way out.” He waved a hand. “They started turning up on the mountain roads and your family’s farm. I tracked some down and found your grandfather holding them off with a bow, of all things.”

Uryuu tightened his grip on the sword, irrationally nervous for his grandfather. “What happened then?”

Marlon’s teeth flashed through the edges of his beard in a sudden grin. “Well, I hadn’t ever seen arrows like that before, I can tell you that much.” The smile fell. “But the more he shot down, the more gathered around. They  _ hated  _ those arrows. I could cut some of them down from behind and the rest ignored me just to try to get at  _ him  _ instead. The two of us ended up barricaded inside the cabin at some point and held out the rest of the night in there. Didn’t sleep a wink all night.

“Rasmodius showed up in the morning, acting all self-important like he does. Said the balance of energies was off, that he could probably seal it with Soken’s help.” Marlon paused to shake his head. “I don’t know what they did, but it seemed to calm things down, at least. Your granddad came by to get a dagger later and we sparred a bit while he got used to it. Said that even though things were mostly quiet, he still got one or two strays every night. I guess they made themselves a little nest somewhere in the woods nearby.”

Uryuu hmmed to himself, thinking that over. “Did you ever see any ghosts?”

Marlon shook his head. “Not out here. There’re some things that are dark and ghost-like in the mines, and there’re skeletons there, too. You’ll meet some skull-faced horrors if you get down to the lower levels. But they all fall to good steel. They’re not ghosts. Not the way people like that Abigail girl mean by the word.”

The mention of “skull-faced horrors” made Uryuu suspicious, but he had a more pressing question. “Abigail? She’s… the shop keeper’s daughter, right?”

Marlon shrugged. “Maybe. She comes around to the mines, sometimes, but I don’t think she’s ever gone in.” The old adventurer gave a smile that showed through his beard. “If you run into her, tell her to figure out if she’s coming or going. Kid like that could go a long way, if she’d just work up the nerve to get started. Like you have.”

They went inside after that and drank some water to cool off a bit before Uryuu went home. The moon was out and he was tired, but he only had to fight off a particularly angry bat along the way.

* * *

As soon as all the crops were tended to the next morning, Uryuu went to Pierre’s store in town. It seemed other people had the same idea of early morning shopping, too. It was quite a crowd, and Uryuu had to wait to make his purchases.

Then, the door opened to let in the greasy looking guy who ran the JojoMart store across the river. He rudely advertised his own store’s wares (right in another shop!) and handed out coupons.

Uryuu was seething. It would be one thing to advertise on your own property, but to invade somebody else’s place? He vowed internally not to set foot in the JojoMart store. Unfortunately, it seemed he was the only one. Pierre was understandably upset and Uryuu had no idea what to say. He bought the seeds he’d come for, promised to return when he needed more, and left.

He would have asked about Abigail, but it just didn’t seem the time or place for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uryuu talks to people! Marlon is not one of the 'giftable' PCs in the game, being just the guy who runs the adventurer's guild shop, so he doesn't have a friendship bar the way the other villagers do. I figure he had something of a wild past in some ways. I got asked if he would have fought Hollows, and, well, I guess it depends on what those flying skulls in the lower dungeons are. Maybe he did. But he's not spiritually awakened enough to throw around magic. He's just an old fighter with some really good weapons and the will to use them. That's what he'd say, anyway.
> 
> The event referenced in the beginning is the crop fairy. She shows up randomly at night to bless your farm and cause everything in a certain area to grow. I got one during berry season when playing, so into the fic it goes!


	6. Making Friends

Digging a book out of sand and dirt would never not be infuriating. What bastard kept leaving them out? Gunther’s ability to restore the books amazed Uryuu, not to mention his patience. He never looked angry, only pleased to have them returned. All the books seemed focused on farming and fishing, so Uryuu discarded his hypothesis that they’d been lost on purpose. Who would hide something so mundane?

It must have been carelessness. If Uryuu ever found out _who_ was leaving books out in the wind and rain, he’d give them an earful, that was for certain.

* * *

The first day of May arrived and there was a letter in his mailbox from Ryuuken.

It had a modest amount of money in it. Enough to pay for meals for a while if someone was careful with a budget.

That was all. No note, no explanation. Just money. Uryuu didn’t know what to feel. Part of him was pathetically grateful, not for the funds (he was doing just fine), but that his father hadn’t forgotten him entirely, written him off and abandoned him.

The rest of him wanted to go all the way back to Karakura and stuff the money down Ryuuken’s throat. He wanted to set it on fire. He wanted to send it back with a letter to tell his father not to waste his time. After nearly a month, not even a word? Just money?

Uryuu felt himself shaking and sat down on the steps of the cabin. His eyes burned, and he bent over and hid his face against his knees. He was not a little kid. He was _not_ going to cry. Angry, confused tears leaked from the corners of his eyes anyway and that made it _worse_ , spurred more to follow after and he couldn’t stop. Haru meowed and nudged his hand so he pulled up the cat into his lap and sobbed on him. His glasses half fell off and he pulled them off with trembling fingers then tried unsuccessfully to get his breathing to even back out.

“Are you okay?”

Uryuu looked and saw a small blob that he thought might be the little girl who lived to the south of him. He shook his head even as he choked out, “I’m _fine_.”

Footsteps came closer, then stopped. “Aunt Marnie says it’s okay to cry,” the little girl voice said, consolingly. “She says it’s like when an animal gets an affected wound. You gotta open it up and let the bad stuff out before you can really get better.”

Uryuu wiped his face and tried to clean some of the smears from his glasses. “It’s _infected_ ,” he corrected the girl. “When bacteria gets in a cut and it gets swollen and hot, it’s infected.”

“Oh?” the girl asked. “I thought it was AFfected.”

“No,” Uryuu said, settling his partially cleared glasses back in place to look at her. “It’s not.” Jas. That was her name.

“Oh. Okay! INfected,” Jas said. “Thanks for telling me. How did you know that?”

He glared at her even though it wasn’t really her fault and said, “My father. He works in a hospital.”

“Is that why he’s not here?”

Uryuu could not possibly explain all the reasons why he was there and Ryuuken was not. He shrugged at her and wiped at his face again. “I guess,” he said through the knot in his throat.

Jas looked at him, then looked down at Haru in his lap. “Can I pet the kitty?”

Uryuu nodded and they sat there for a little while, petting Haru until he purred like a car motor.

* * *

Uryuu sent the money back without a note but in a fresh envelope so Ryuuken would know it was returned on purpose. Then he went to the mines and spent the whole day smashing things.

One of those things was one of the weird rock creatures with crab legs, which turned out to be an actual crab hiding in a rock. The Junimos accepted the crab body the same as if Uryuu had trapped it from the ocean and they gave him another reward for his efforts- the very traps that he would need to catch more crabs.

He also found a club among the crates in the mines. It was slower and less agile than the sword, but smashed things in a really satisfying manner. He decided he’d keep it for a while.

* * *

The next town event was some kind of dance. Uryuu didn’t really feel like going, but it turned out that everybody else did. Not a single shop was open, and he was too stiff and sore from his expedition the day before to go back to the mines again.

So he went to the dance.

The whole town being gathered together felt as awkward as it did for the Egg Festival. Uryuu at least knew Marlon and nodded to him, but he barely talked to anybody before sitting at the edges of the grass by himself, wishing he was somewhere else.

He wasn’t there long before Jas came over, tugging along a little boy with her. “Uryuu! Farmer Uryuu! Meet my friend, Vincent!” She sat down next to Uryuu and Vincent plopped down on her other side. “Vincent, this is Uryuu. He’s the farmer and he has the cloudy kitty now and named him Haru.”

The little boy brightened. “Oh yeah! I’ve seen you around town. I’m glad you gave the cat a home. I was worried for him.”

Uryuu felt a smile tug at his mouth. “Yeah. Haru is good company, so I try to take care of him.”

Vincent nodded. “That’s good! Do you have any other animals on your farm?”

Uryuu shook his head. “Not yet. I’m trying to save enough money to get a kitchen before I buy a coop. I want to be able to cook.”

Jas gasped. “You can cook? Aunt Marnie doesn’t let _me_ cook.”

The smile tugged harder. “Of course not; you’re still too small to reach anything,” Uryuu replied.

“I can, too!” Jas said. “I can use a stepstool.”

Uryuu had to concede that with a nod.

“Hey!” Vincent said, “Once you get a kitchen, maybe we could come over and help cook! And I could pet Haru.”

Uryuu huffed. “You just want to come over to see my cat.”

“No, no!” Jas said. “We like you, too. Can we come over sometime, please?”

What could he say to that? Uryuu nodded his assent, to their pleasure.

For the rest of the dance the two kids kept him company, talking about things they found in the woods and school lessons with their teacher, Penny. It was better than trying to not get in the way of the adults.

The dance itself was okay. At least it didn’t take long.


	7. Not a Safe Place

The other farmers had insisted you needed a scarecrow. Uryuu made one and put it up and pretty much ignored it. As the days grew hot and he barely saw any crows anywhere in town, he wondered out loud if the scarecrow was doing anything at all or if he went to all that effort for nothing.

The scarecrow said, “I’ve scared five crows away.”

Uryuu smacked it with the club he’d been carrying in case of monsters and backed away hastily. The scarecrow didn’t make any noise of pain or change position. It had a fresh dent in the straw from the club, but otherwise looked exactly the same as before.

Feeling foolish, Uryuu crept back up to it. “You can talk?”

“I speak the language of the Junimos,” the scarecrow replied, its painted mouth not moving.

Uryuu frowned at it. “Nobody else is going to be able to hear you, are they?”

“Unless they are one with the forest, they will not.”

Typical. He couldn’t even tell people about the talking scarecrow. They’d think he was nuts.

Uryuu packed up his things and spent the day fishing well away from the farm.

* * *

Uryuu had enough funds to get a kitchen but the spring crops were beginning to wither so he needed to buy some more heat tolerant seeds, first. He sighed and promised himself that it wouldn’t be too long before he’d have enough again. Now that he knew he could manage it once, that gave him confidence to keep at it.

Summer flowers and berries were starting to appear around town. By the time he’d made it to the store he already had enough items to fulfill another of the Junimos’ requests.

They gave him a reward and another list. He wondered whether they would just keep handing him more work every time he managed to scrape together some of the things they wanted. Was it a never-ending job?

A year. He’d decided to do this for a year. He could stick it out that long, at least.

* * *

The next day was pouring down rain, so naturally Uryuu was on the beach. According to the books in the library, there were some fish that only came close enough to the surface to catch when it was raining.

He was not expecting the ghost. It was an older man who nodded to him politely as he stood there back by the trees, the rain sort of bending around him to give the impression that he was actually there. Uryuu wasn’t fooled by it, though- if he’d been alive, he would have been soaked with rain running over and through his clothes instead of merely looking damp.

Being soaked himself, Uryuu was not in the best mood as he stomped over to the spirit. “Just what are you doing here?” he demanded.

The ghost gave him a mysterious smile. “You’re a little young to be looking to marry someone,” he said. “It’s tradition. People who are in love come here to receive a pendant they can give to their loved one to propose.”

“From a  _ ghost? _ ” Uryuu was scandalized. “How can you stay here? This is dangerous!” He threw his hands up and winced when cold water tracked back down his arms and chilled the sides of his torso. He hastily hugged himself to try to hold in some warmth. Arguing with a ghost in the rain was going to make him sick. If the ghost didn’t turn into a Hollow and try to eat him first.

However the ghost did not seem angry, merely thoughtful. “You must be from out of town. So long as I’ve got my job here, I’m alright. The Valley needs me, you see, so it keeps me on an even keel. Most of the people in town don’t even realize I’m dead.”

Uryuu shook his head. “Scarecrows that talk, plants that try to kill you, and ghosts that don’t go crazy. What a place.” He suddenly sneezed.

The ghost gave him a sharp look. “You should get home and warm up. Just because I’m a ghost doesn’t mean I’m eager for more company. You need to go take care of yourself.”

Uryuu sighed and nodded. “I’ll be keeping an eye on you,” he warned the ghost.

The spirit just nodded back. “Stay safe, kid. Come see me when you’re old enough to have a sweetheart.” He turned his gaze back towards the ocean.

Feeling scolded and dismissed, Uryuu trudged back home, grumbling all the way. He spent the rest of the day in front of the fireplace, reading his books and petting the cat while the fire blazed.

* * *

Tax day again. Lewis appreciated the opportunity collecting tax gave him to speak to people in town, learn the news.

Marnie was worried about Uryuu and was encouraging her niece to visit as a way of spying on the boy. Lewis understood the impulse and didn’t say anything to discourage her. He still peeked into the cabin windows at night sometimes.

Pierre said Uryuu was his best customer and possibly the only reason he wasn’t going out of business. So did Clint.

Gus had barely seen the kid, which, well, Gus ran a saloon. That was actually a relief in a way, though Lewis would have liked to see the boy show up to talk to people.

Robin had seen him often, but not at her shop. No, he passed by her house to get to the lake or the mines.

The kid was there now, fishing on the shores of the lake and ignoring everything else. He had a half-healed scrape on his face that made Lewis steam as he headed for the last shop in his circuit.

The door of the Adventurer’s Guild was too heavy to slam open, but Lewis made a good attempt anyway. “Marlon! When I asked you to keep an eye on the new farmer, I didn’t mean to give him a sword and let him down into the mines! He’s  _ twelve! _ ”

Gil barely looked up from his rocking chair and mid-afternoon nap. Marlon smirked through his beard. “It is tax day again already? I’ll get my receipts.” He ducked under the counter to pull out a very small stack of papers.

Lewis thumped one fist down on the countertop. “Are you even listening to me?”

Marlon carefully straightened up, leaning against the counter and putting most of his weight onto his arm to safeguard his bad leg. “Yup. He’s twelve. Old enough. I was twelve, first time I ventured into a monster lair.” He dealt out the paltry receipts into a spread on the counter, like a poker hand. Or a tarot reading.

“That was years ago,” Lewis objected, feeling himself heat up with embarrassment the longer he argued. “Things are different now.  _ People  _ are different now.”

“Oh?” Marlon finally gave Lewis his attention, single eye piercing. “Some people are, maybe. But not everybody. Some people, they  _ train _ . They get stronger. They  _ need  _ to. Like Uryuu, or Abigail.” He pauses, shrugs. “I haven’t asked why, but anybody who’s done this can see the kid’s fought things before. Not  _ people _ , I don’t think. But something wanted him dead at least once. He wants to fight back, he should know how.”

“He shouldn’t  _ have  _ to-”

“ _ But he does! _ ” Marlon raised his voice to interrupt, slamming a palm down to cut Lewis off. “He lives in a place where he could be jumped at any time after dark and he’s not running away and hiding.” Marlon dropped his voice again. “If he’s going to live in a world where things attack him, the least I can do is give him the tools to fight ‘em off, Lewis. I can’t change the world to make it safe, but I can help him survive. So I’m going to. It’s bad enough he’s alone. I won’t leave the kid helpless.”

Lewis could feel the heat on his face and neck. He wanted to argue, to tell Marlon he was wrong, that the world wasn’t like that. And maybe in town it wasn’t, but Uryuu didn’t live in town. It wrung his heart to think of it, of a kid that young taking on those risks.

“Y-you’re right,” Lewis stuttered, half mumbling it. “Sorry.”

Marlon shook his head. “It’s all right.” He dug some coins out of his register and counted them out. “You’re worried. So am I.”

Lewis accepted the coins and receipts. More than last month, and he knew why. “Keep an eye on him.”

Marlon nodded. “I will when I can, but I don’t have one to spare anymore.” He smirked at his own joke and Lewis shook his head.

It was getting dark as Lewis headed back into town. Uryuu wasn’t fishing on the lake shore anymore, but that didn’t mean he was safe at home yet either.

He was going to get an ulcer worrying about that kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of the issues with crossing over Bleach and Stardew Valley is the calendar. SDV has four months/seasons of exactly 28 days long. Translating that to actual twelve month terms means creative interpretation of events, sometimes. It also means that Uryuu gets more downtime than the game lets you have. Assume he spends a lot of that time studying or making plans.


	8. Moving Up

Uryuu had mostly ignored the requests on the bulletin board so far. He hadn’t had time for it while also clearing debris from the farm, tending crops, and training. But the errands promised payment, and that would be worth doing.

If he could find the person he needed to talk to, that is. He had some copper for Evelyn, but she wasn’t home and she wasn’t tending flowers and she wasn’t at the store… and it occurred to Uryuu that he really didn’t know what most of the people did during the day. Oh, he knew the shop owners and their hours, but if running errands was going to be profitable instead of a giant waste of time, he needed to be able to actually find people without spending half a day running around town first.

He grimly bought another notebook from Pierre and set out talking to people and taking notes. At least he could stop and catch some fish or pick wild grapes while he was running around.

* * *

There was an earthquake in the night that rattled the cabin.

Uryuu was cautious the next day, remembering Marlon’s story about how an earthquake had led to monsters leaving their normal routes. He walked the mountain trail and discovered that some of the hill had subsided, creating a narrow path that seemed stable enough to walk through.

He was greatly surprised to find a dusty but intact spa on the other side as well as a small train stop. There was no ticket booth for the train, nor was there an attendant at the spa. The tracks looked regularly used, but everything else spoke of neglect.

Uryuu wandered the area for a bit, making sure there weren’t any hidden surprises. There was a small cave entrance near the train stop, but it was blocked by an odd statue and seemed to be sealed, too. It all seemed safe enough.

Maybe he’d come back sometime and see if the water in the spa was hot.

* * *

Of all the people to show up at his cabin in the morning, Demetrius was near the bottom of Uryuu’s list. But the researcher was there, asking about the cave on Uryuu’s properly.

Uryuu’s property. That he could make decisions for, because he  _ owned  _ it. It felt good, to have something that couldn’t be taken away, that he could make better a little at a time.

Demetrius wanted to either encourage bats to nest in the cave and possibly drop off fruit samples, or to grow mushrooms. It wasn’t a very hard decision to make. There were already bats in the area and they were the aggressive kind from the mines. Uryuu was leery of having even more bats around that might crossbreed or compete. However, he did remember Marlon mentioning that some mushrooms could be brewed into a restorative that could help heal some of the bruises and scrapes he accumulated while fighting off creatures in the mines.  _ That  _ would be more than worthwhile to have on his farm, and he could sell any extra mushrooms as well.

Mushrooms it was. Demetrius was thrilled to get permission and worked to set everything up while the sun was still bright.

* * *

It didn’t take all that long between days of fishing and mining for Uryuu to accumulate enough funds to hire Robin to work on the cabin. She was at the farm even before Uryuu rolled out of bed the next day, measuring, pounding in stakes, and framing out the extra room. 

Uryuu went about his business at first, picking peppers to sell and watering all the crops, then heading out to the mines for the day. He went back home a little early, though, and found Robin still there even though the sun was setting and it wouldn’t be safe to be outside for long. Unsure how to broach the subject, Uryuu just leaned against the supports of the porch and waited.

He didn’t have to wait long. One of the plant golems rose out of the grass and began to lurch in his direction. Uryuu summoned arrows to shoot it twice, then waited until it was close enough to dispatch with a swing of a sword.

“Are you going to keep working in the dark, Miss Robin?” he asked. He heard the flapping of bat wings and prepared to intercept it.

“I said I’d have this done in three days and I will,” Robin said fiercely, slamming home another nail. “I have two feet of framing to finish and then I can leave this for the night.”

Uryuu nodded as he cut down the bat. After that, another plant golem rose from the ground and he switched between blade and arrows then back again, making sure he wasn’t led too far away.

He cut down a dozen more creatures before Robin holstered her hammer. “All done!” She paused to look at her work, then around at the bits of grass and slime and bat parts nearby. “Oh, dear. I didn’t realize! I didn’t mean to put you in danger.”

Uryuu shook his head. “It’s no trouble.” He couldn’t keep a slight blush of embarrassment off his face, but he wasn’t going to let a woman get attacked on his property if he could help it.

* * *

Robin was back as soon as the sun was up. Uryuu finished his morning chores at the farm and paused to watch her work. She finished up laying in a bundle of wires and stopped to pour herself some coffee from a thermos. Uryuu didn’t miss the nervous look she gave him.

“So, how’s life on the farm treating you?” she asked.

Uryuu shrugged. “I’m doing alright,” he answered. “It’s work, but it’s not bad.” He didn’t like the look she had, like she was going to start grilling him to make sure he was eating foods she thought he should eat, or keeping up with schoolwork, or who knew what. So he asked a question he’d been wondering about.

“There’s the remains of a building over there,” he pointed. “It looks like a greenhouse. Can you repair it?”

Robin looked over and sighed, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “I don’t think so. Wood and stone and even wiring, I can do. But fitting individual glass panes like that? I don’t have the tools or the experience.” She looked back at Uryuu. “Sorry, kiddo.”

Uryuu could not quite keep the disgust off his face. “Kiddo?” he echoed under his breath.

Robin smiled at him. “Sorry,  _ Uryuu _ . I’ll try to remember that.”

Uryuu nodded stiffly and gathered his things to go to the mines.

* * *

Uryuu stood guard again that night and the next, making sure Robin stayed safe until she finished. It amazed him how quickly she worked.

In the meantime, he made another trip to the mines and spent a day fishing to recover. On his way back from the lake, he found some disturbed dirt and dug up an unusual egg.

It was large and warm and slightly nubbly. He took it home and held it in front of a candle. The shell was thick and it was hard to make out what was inside, but whatever it was twitched and moved, so it had to still be alive.

Uryuu made a little nest by the fireplace to keep it warm and began making plans to get a coop next. He hoped he could afford one before the odd egg hatched.


	9. Making Omelets

Demetrius smiled to see his wife home again and brought her some decaf coffee to warm her up. “How was the farm?”

Robin shook her head and accepted the hot drink. “That boy… he’s a real gentleman. You know how I get when I’m working on a project-”

“Something we share in common,” Demetrius interrupted, earning him an irritated glance and a soft smile.

“Yeah,” Robin agreed. “And the rumors about the farm are true. There  _ are  _ things that show up at night. But he’d just put himself somewhere nearby and stand guard while I finished up.” She rubbed her face. “He’s doing a good job over there. I admit I’m a little surprised. I wouldn’t have thought somebody so young could handle all the work that goes into a farm like that.”

Demetrius made a noise of agreement. “Stubborn. Like Maru.”

Robin chuckled. “Or Sebastian. It’s why he gives us so many headaches.” She set down the half-finished mug. “I still worry. There’s nobody else there with him if he gets injured. At least when I was working, he had an adult nearby.”

Demetrius gave his wife a fond smile. “I’m sure he’ll hire you again soon, and you can spy to your heart’s content.”

“Oh, you!” Robin swatted him, but her grin made it worth it.

* * *

Uryuu was amazed at what Robin had done with his little ramshackle cabin. She’d built on not just a kitchen but enough extra space for a dining area as well. The fridge was bright and new and empty, just waiting to be filled. Uryuu delayed his usual morning chores for a bit to move some of his furniture around. He didn’t have much, but he made the most of it.

Robin also sold furniture and furniture patterns, didn’t she? Uryuu made a note to find out the costs so he could budget for some. He needed a coop first, of course, for the egg he turned a couple times a day by the fireplace, but after… he wasn’t sure what he wanted to focus on after. Maybe some furniture would be nice.

After that, he carefully went through the produce he harvested to decide what to keep in the fridge. Mostly, the nicer looking vegetables were set aside to sell. He didn’t care what his food looked like, after all, and the oddly shaped produce would taste the same. He was just finishing up and fetching his fishing rod (he could keep a fish fresh long enough to cook now!) when he heard someone calling him from outside.

* * *

“Uryuu! Uryuuuuuuu!” Jas called out in a sing-song voice. She huffed as she worked her way through the tall grass and past the neatly tilled plots. The basket she was carrying was heavy- Aunt Marnie had filled it up with eggs and milk for Uryuu- and it seemed to get heavier the longer she carried it.

Thankfully, the door of the cabin opened just as she reached the steps of the porch. Uryuu stepped out and took the heavy basket with just one hand! She hoped she got that strong someday. The older boy gave the basket and her a puzzled look.

“Jas? Why are you here?”

She gave him a big, friendly smile. “You said I could come over! We can cook now, right?”

Uryuu rubbed the bridge of his nose under his glasses. “Well, yes, but Robin just finished last night. How did you know?”

Jas knew the answer to that one! “The mayor was over last night after he picked up the things in the sell box!” She pointed at the crate at the edge of the farm. “He told Auntie!”

Uryuu straightened his glasses and gave Jas a close look. “The mayor was over at your house…? No, nevermind.” He brushed his shirt with his free hand even though it wasn’t dirty and headed back inside. “Come on, we can cook now.”

Jas jumped back up to her feet and eagerly followed Uryuu inside. “He stays over sometimes,” she explained, “But when he does, he always leaves before breakfast. I’m usually still asleep then, so I don’t even get to say hi!”

She noticed Uryuu rubbing at his face again and wondered if he got allergies, but then her attention was caught by the brand new, shiny fridge and stove. “Is there a stepstool?”

Uryuu stopped. “No,” he said, looking around. “But there’s a chair.” He reached up to place the basket on the counter and then grabbed the only chair in the house, a wooden one by the table. He wrestled it over to the side of the stove and waved for Jas to climb up. It was only once she was standing where she could see the stove top that she realized that Uryuu was going to have trouble reaching, too.

“Here, it’s your house, I can…” she looked around, trying to figure out a way to be able to participate without stealing the only thing that would let Uryuu cook in his own kitchen.

“Get up on the counter,” Uryuu ordered her, waving his hands to shoo her higher.

Jas stared at him. “But! You’re not supposed to climb on countertops!”

“It’s my house,” Uryuu said, giving her a weird little smile. “I say it’s okay.”

So Jas climbed up on the counter and sat with her feet swinging over the side, heels thumping against the cabinet door underneath. Uryuu stood on the chair and carefully practiced making omelets in a battered but still round pan, showing Jas all the steps as he worked. Then, they took a break to eat, after which Uryuu got up on the counters and let Jas stand on the chair to try.

Hers were kind of lumpy and strange but they still tasted good. Fresh eggs meant good omelets, that’s what Shane would say! They stopped before using up all the eggs so Uryuu could have some to cook with later. Jas thanked him and promised to come back, then headed back home, swinging an empty basket all the way.

She really liked Uryuu. He was so nice!

* * *

Uryuu wiped down the counter and allowed himself a sigh. Two hours of the day gone, making and eating omelets.

But Jas was young and small and friendly… and it would have been very ungentlemanly to have thrown her out.

Well, if it was too late to do the early morning fishing at the beach, at least he could go practice on the monsters in the mines. Uryuu retrieved his sword and other tools and headed outside, petting Haru as he left.

* * *

It was very late by the time Uryuu stumbled back through town from the mines. He was getting better at fighting off the monsters, but the monsters were getting stronger as he made his way deeper. He probably needed to train some more with Marlon if he was going to keep up with it.

And he was definitely going to keep at it. The time spent fighting actual creatures had sharpened his skills and reflexes better than the handful of Hollows he’d shot at before. It was those instincts that had him pulling the sword out of its sheath when he heard a shout.

He rounded George and Evelyn’s house to find George yelling about raccoons from his doorstep. The wheelbound man eyed Uryuu’s sword. “Here, would you do me a favor?” he asked. “Go give those raccoons a scare. I bet they won’t be back again anytime soon if you rush at ‘em with that thing.”

Uryuu shrugged agreement, but what he found when he checked the garbage wasn’t raccoons. It was the wild man who lived in a tent, Linus, going through the tins and pulling out half-eaten food.

The spectacle made Uryuu queasy. Linus must have seen that on his face, because the wild man began to explain about food going to waste and not hurting anybody with his habits.

Uryuu waved his free hand. “I won’t tell anybody,” he said, “But that’s disgusting.” He thought of food left out in a bacteria rich environment and shuddered.

Linus promised not to poke around George and Evelyn’s house for a while, so they left it at that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while. I had a slump in writing and also had one of those scenes that just wasn't working. And suddenly today, it all came easy again. Uryuu will have friends, whether he wants them or not!


	10. The Luau

Uryuu was pleased when he totaled his profits the next morning and discovered he had enough for a coop at last. The weird egg he kept by the hearth had changed a lot. When he held it in front of a candle there was hardly any gap between whatever was inside and the shell. He hoped Robin would finish her work before it hatched.

Uryuu’s anxiety on the question only increased when Robin cheerfully told him that the next day was a holiday, so she wouldn’t do any work until the day after. The whole town would be at the beach for a ‘Luau’. Deciding that he was not really in a mood to go fight things in the mines today, Uryuu headed for the library. There, Abigail mentioned that the governor would be present tomorrow. So as well as fretting over the egg on the hearth, Uryuu worried about saying or doing something dumb around an important public official.

He ran around town, picking up fruits and flowers and trying to figure out what he could bring to the event. Fruit? Mushrooms? A fish? The melons were almost ripe. Maybe one of those would be ready.

The only bright spot in the day was discovering that he had enough mushrooms to try out the healing brew he’d learned about from Marlon. It didn’t take long to make but it smelled like burnt coffee when he was done. A sip confirmed that it tasted like it, too.

Whatever. So long as it  _ worked _ .

Maybe he could go to the mines tomorrow and skip the holiday entirely.

Maybe.

* * *

The egg by the hearth sat quietly and seemed in no danger of hatching just yet. Uryuu was tempted to go to the mines and just avoid people. He watered his crops, put away his tools, and began looking for his club when he heard someone calling.

“Uryuuuuuuuu! Uryuuuuuuu!”

Jas’ voice.

Uryuu slumped over the toolbox. Jas probably wasn’t here to drag him to the mines.

“Hey, there he is!” Vincent’s voice. Two little kids. He risked looking in that direction. Somewhere behind the two kids was Marnie, standing at a distance but keeping a watchful eye on things. She lifted her gaze and zeroed in on Uryuu like a hunting hawk. Crap.

They’d already spotted him. There was no getting away without being cruel. And he didn’t  _ really  _ want to be cruel to Jas and Vincent.

Uryuu straightened up with a sigh and waved. “Hold on! I have to get something!” He went inside and looked through his fridge, picking out some still fresh strawberries to share and tucking them in his bag.

The kids were waiting on the porch steps for him. He was barely out the door before they grabbed his arms and started pulling him along. “C’mon, c’mon!” Vincent said. “We don’t want to miss anything!”

Rather than be dragged all the way to the beach, Uryuu picked up his pace to match the two munchkins. Marnie watched with one of those smug grown-up smiles. It was tempting to make a face at her, but he wasn’t a  _ kid _ . He would face this trial with dignity.

* * *

The beach was lively with music, people, and food. Jas and Vincent relinquished their grip to run towards the music and dancing while Marnie wandered towards the tables, satisfied that Uryuu wouldn’t run away now that he was here.

He could still go, he supposed. Lurk along the edges, then slip away quietly before anything awful happened. Uryuu drifted away from the noise and chaos of the food tables and found Marlon in the shade of the trees at the edge of the beach.

“You came to this thing?” he asked.

Marlon smirked back on him. “I never miss a festival,” he answered. “It’s important to get out of the house and see people.” He waved a hand at the rest of the beach. “Go on, at least say hello to everyone. You can hide in the shade later.”

Uryuu stared at him, but the old adventurer merely flapped his hands and nodded towards the crowd to shoo him away.

* * *

Uryuu made noises that sort of counted as greetings at various townsfolk at the beach. Everybody was there, it seemed. Even the wizard, who told Uryuu very seriously that the merfolk were curious about what was going on.

Uryuu set aside that whole mind-blowing set of questions for later. He still wasn’t sure if the old man wasn’t half bullshit on a good day, and today he was in no frame of mind to navigate that sort of mess.

The docks were at least cooler and quieter than the beach itself, so he lingered a little longer to enjoy the fresh sea breeze and quietly be grateful for the floppy straw hat that kept his face from becoming one big tomato in the sun.

He wasn’t the only one. Abigail was also avoiding the crowded beach in favor of the relatively empty docks. The sight of her reminded Uryuu of Marlon’s comment about how she had potential.

Uryuu sidled over. “Hello.”

“Hey. It’s Uryuu, right?” Abigail answered.

Uryuu nodded. “So… Marlon mentioned you show up at the mines sometimes, but you don’t go in.”

The purple-haired girl grimaced. “He did, huh? I guess I shouldn’t be surprised somebody noticed.” She folded and re-folded her hands. “I think about it, about going in. But I’m not sure I can do it.”

Uryuu sat down on the dock next to her. “Why not?”

Abigail sighed. “Well, it’s… killing. I don’t even like killing spiders.” She paused. “Well, I also kind of  _ like  _ spiders. I always catch them in a little cup to move outside or to a shed.” She shrugged. “But, you know. Even if something was coming right at me, I don’t know if I could actually  _ stab  _ it.”

“Oh,” Uryuu answered, staring at the water. He’d thought she’d be scared of getting hurt. He kicked his feet a bit. “Well, if you want to try, you could come with me and I’ll protect you while you figure it out.”

Abigail covered her mouth. “Oh, that’s so sweet!”

Uryuu scowled. “I  _ mean  _ it! I’m down there practically every other day. But I guess you don’t care.” He scooted back to stand up.

Abigail blinked at him. “Oh, Uryuu, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…” but Uryuu was already gone, heading back to the party to see if there was anything else required of him before he left.

* * *

It turned out that everybody was supposed to bring food- to put in the big pot of soup in the middle of the luau. Not just for people to snack on. Peggy seemed to think the strawberries would be alright in the pot, so Uryuu shrugged and dropped them in (tops removed, of course).

And it turned out to be a good soup. Even the governor pronounced it to be very pleasant. The general murmur of approval soothed Uryuu’s ragged nerves. Marlon gave him a nod and told him he’d done a good job today. Uryuu remembered some of his conversations that day and felt skeptical, but he couldn’t help a feeling of warmth as well. He told Marlon he’d be back for more training as soon as the coop was finished. After all, Robin would work late and he’d need to be there for her. Marlon laughed and said he approved of Uryuu’s priorities.

All in all, it hadn't been a bad day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uryuu the snarly kitten is warm and soft inside. Shhh, it's a secret.
> 
> This is your reminder that, unlike the generic Stardew Valley protagonist, Uryuu is twelve in this fic. He resents this fact regularly.


	11. Abigail

Abigail stared at the sword she liked to use for practice and sighed. She’d screwed up. She hadn’t meant to hurt Uryuu’s feelings, but the tween boy had been so cute and earnest with his offer, she’d forgotten that he regularly went to the mines to fight monsters.

Heck, he lived on a farm everybody agreed was haunted.

Maybe she could visit some night, see if the stories were true.

Maybe she should visit that night and apologize while she was at it.

* * *

Uryuu began his day bright and early as always. The morning program on the television announced that there would be more things to find on the beach for the next few days, so he grabbed his fishing gear. Two birds, one stone.

On his way to the beach, he stopped to see if there were any requests posted and discovered that Alex wanted a tuna. Uryuu checked his notes. The spirits in the community center also wanted a tuna. The weather was just right for it, too.

So, after stuffing his bag with shells and urchins found on the beach, Uryuu began casting lines. He tried to be patient with the tilapia he kept getting- those would at least sell well even if they weren’t that day's goal.

It was early afternoon before he managed to land two nice, fat tuna. Checking his notes, Uryuu headed for the ice cream stand to fulfill Alex’s request. The teen asked him if he wanted any ice cream, but Uryuu was already headed to the community center.

The junimos were happy to receive their fish and gave Uryuu a stack of wooden faces with blue trim that buzzed with spiritual energy. Uryuu resolved to put them away and not touch them until he had a better idea of what they were for.

* * *

Uryuu made it back to the farm before it got really dark. Robin was hard at work, of course, but he also spotted Abigail hanging around and hesitated.

Still, it was  _ his  _ home. Uryuu began putting away his tools and sorting through his bag for saleable items.

“Oh, you found a totem! That’s amazing!”

Uryuu made a pained noise and carefully removed a sea urchin spine from his finger. He’d tensed up and clenched his hand when Abigail startled him.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said hastily. “Actually, I came over to say sorry about yesterday, too. I didn’t mean to insult your skills.”

Uryuu finished putting beach salvage and tools away. “It’s okay,” he said hastily. Then he paused. “A totem?”

Abigail pointed to the weird wooden face. “Those! There’s a book in the library that mentions them. They’re supposed to move people from place to place. Spooky, right?”

Uryuu examined the totem. “I guess I haven’t read that book yet.”

Abigail blushed. “Oh, I think I forgot to return it. That’s embarrassing. I probably have a huge fee due. I’ll make sure to find it and turn it in so you can read it.” She fidgeted, dancing from one foot to the other. “I’m really making a mess of this, aren’t I?”

In a triumph of character, Uryuu didn’t answer that question. Instead, he walked to where Robin was working and took up a guard position. “So, you just came over to apologize?”

Abigail grinned at him. “Well, that was the big reason, but I also wanted to see just how haunted this farm really is.”

“Haunted enough,” Uryuu answered. “Not by real ghosts, but-” he cut himself off to lunge at a slime that had snuck close enough to be a threat. It died with a squelch and he lifted the oozy sword to show it to Abigail. “Plenty of pests.”

Abigail examined the mess with wide eyes. “So, you just hang out and kill them?”

Uryuu nodded. “At least when Robin is working, I do. She’s focused on her work.” He waved at Robin, who showed no sign of having noticed anybody else was around. “Otherwise, I go inside. They don’t try to break the door down anymore.”

Abigail looked a bit green. “Anymore?” she asked weakly.

It was Uryuu’s turn to blush slightly. “The first week I was here, I tried killing them with arrows. It made them really angry. If it wasn’t for Marlon, I think they would have broken in.”

“Omigosh,” Abigail gasped, looking around. “But it’s not normally that dangerous, right?”

Uryuu shrugged, spotting a plant golem. “Not if I’m paying attention, anyway.” He summoned and shot an arrow at it to weaken it, then jumped forward to cut the thing down.

“Ugh,” Abigail moaned, sitting down. “It looked like a little man.”

“It’s just plants.” Uryuu poked through the mess of grass with the sword tip to demonstrate. “And some kind of animating spirit, I think. I don’t get much chance to really look at them while they’re trying to kill me.”

Abigail made a face. “Would that help? Looking at them.”

Uryuu thought about it while he chased down the bat that was fluttering closer. “I’d like to. Just to know better what I’m dealing with.  _ Not  _ knowing is frustrating.”

Abigail hmmed and gave the farm a considering look. “Why don’t I come over some night when it’s just you here, so you’re not that busy? I can help stand guard or pin something down.”

Uryuu nodded, and then a thought struck him. “Hold a moment.” He looked around to make sure things were quiet, then focused to call forth the spirit ribbons. Amid the many green and white ribbons that materialized in his hand, Abigail’s ribbon was white with a purple tinge. “You might be able to do more than that,” he said with satisfaction.

She gasped and poked at the ribbon. “Where did those come from? What are they?”

Uryuu dismissed the lot and moved to take on another slime. “Spirit ribbons. It’s an advanced technique,” he said smugly. “I don’t know if you’ll be able to use it, but I could teach you some basic meditation exercises.” He smirked at the prospect of making somebody  _ else  _ go through tedious beginner’s exercises for once.

Abigail jumped to her feet and punched the air. “You’re on! It’ll be a couple of days before Robin’s done, right? I’ll be back then!” She began to head back towards town. “Don’t forget!”

“I won’t,” Uryuu assured as he waved farewell. He kept an eye on her as she left, but nothing jumped up to attack her. Instead, another golem tried to slip past Uryuu to get to Robin. He cut it down with less than a foot to spare

“Oh!” Robin cried out. “Thank you, Uryuu! I was just packing up for the day.” She tucked some hair behind her ear. “Was there somebody else here? You be careful, okay?”

“I’m always careful,” Uryuu assured her. “And it was just Abigail.” He wondered how to fit in his training sessions with Marlon as well as teaching Abigail. If worst came to worst, he could leave a note, right?

When did he start spending so much time with other people?


	12. Keeping Even

Ryuuken sent Uryuu another envelope of money. Uryuu took it out, put it in a fresh envelope, and sent it back.

Uryuu spent most of that day at the mines smashing things, but he made sure to get back in time to stand guard while Robin finished up the coop.

* * *

The summer crops were fruiting in earnest and the coop was finally done, two things that made for a busy day. Uryuu took the junimos their requested share and received a sprinkler in return. A sprinkler that apparently didn’t need to actually connect to a hose in order to water nearby plants. He gritted his teeth and accepted the return gift as politely as he could rather than upset the little spirits. It seemed that this was another thing like the talking scarecrow, the ghost that gave out betrothal gifts, and the apparent existence of merpeople that followed its own rules here in this valley.

It was a constant source of irritation.

Granted, it wasn’t quite as annoying as the books he continued to dig out of the dirt. Or maybe it was about the same, just a different flavor. There was a gap between how Uryuu knew things ought to be and how things actually were in this place, and it kept showing up in painful jolts like running through a field and wrenching his foot in a rabbit hole.

Uryuu distracted himself by going to Marnie’s Ranch and buying a perfectly normal chicken so his coop wouldn’t be empty. Not that the chick would be alone for long; the egg on the hearth was beginning to twitch, so he’d have another bird soon. Probably not a chicken- the mystery egg was larger and seemed to have a thicker shell. If it turned out to be something really wild like an eagle, he wasn’t sure what he’d do. Maybe Demetrius would know. The man was a scientist, wasn’t he?

In any case, Uryuu was unwilling to go too far with the egg so close to hatching, so he did chores about the farm and then spent the afternoon studying school books and practicing math, the better to keep up with his expected level if he ever returned to a normal school.

The knock at the door wasn’t entirely unexpected.

* * *

It seemed a bit weird to Abigail how someone who was six years younger than she was could also seem a bit intimidating.

Well, she  _ was  _ here to learn from him. Maybe it was just normal student nerves with a teacher. On the other hand, looking at Uryuu through the open door, maybe it was the glare as if she’d interrupted something important. But it vanished, to be replaced with a neutral expression that was technically polite. “Here to learn to meditate?”

Abigail nodded. “I sure am!” she said, trying not to fidget. She also tried not to snoop too obviously. What she could see through the door was a very neat cabin with a very messy table, books and papers all over. It made her itch to ask what he was doing.

Uryuu ignored her subtle rubbernecking and looked her over instead. “Did you bring your sword?”

Heat crept over Abigail’s cheeks. “What? No, I didn’t think I’d need…” she trailed off under the rigidly neutral expression, somehow worse than mere disapproval.

The boy shrugged, looking away. “We can use sticks. There’s plenty around.” He exited the cabin and headed to the woodpile, sorting through it until he’d found a couple of fairly hefty pieces of wood. The one he handed to Abigail nearly weighed as much as a sword, which worried her.

“We’re not going to be hitting each other with these, are we?” she asked, a bit concerned about the damage they’d do.

A smile, there and gone. “We could,” Uryuu said. “But it wouldn’t be all that fair.” He walked to a clear space to the right of his cabin. Abigail followed, starting to get the feeling like maybe there was a joke here that she just couldn’t figure out. But the kid was absolutely solemn when he turned to face her.

“Okay…” Abigail said. “So… why the sticks?”

Uryuu adjusted his glasses. “That’s not how you address a teacher,” he said, and she knew,  _ knew  _ he was holding back a smirk.

Abigail bit down on her objections and stood a little straighter. “Sorry, teacher. What do you want me to do?”

Uryuu nodded. “Better. First, we’re going to warm up. Swing like this.” And he demonstrated several swings that Abigail recognized. But when she started doing them, he stopped her, to fix it.

Uryuu, Abigail quickly learned, was a dreadful perfectionist and he wasn’t going to let her do anything sloppy either. If five swings were perfect, the sixth had better be, too, or he was going to stop her and make her do that one again.

Abigail was hot and sweaty and starting to feel grumpy by the time Uryuu let them take a break. And then it was on to stretches, which was embarrassing because Abigail wasn’t exactly out of shape but Uryuu could touch his toes and then some and she couldn’t.

So, after half an hour of sweaty exercise and almost that long of stretching various muscles, then and only then did Uryuu sit down on the grass and motion for her to join him. Abigail dropped to the ground with a bit of a humph, but then realized that she felt good. Her muscles were warm and loose, the grass was soft, the sun was shining.

Maybe, she thought, there was something to all the warm-up.

The meditation itself was pretty simple. After a while of sitting there, being talked through it and then silence where she tried to keep her mind on track, Uryuu said that was enough for a first try.

After they picked themselves up off the grass, the boy hesitated, then offered, “It gets easier,” with a shrug.

Abigail nodded. “I guess it just takes practice,” she said, thinking of how Uryuu could stretch so much farther than she could. She remembered all the hours spent playing video games instead of joining the weekly exercise classes at her parents’ house and couldn’t help a rueful smile. “Thank you, teacher,” she told him, giving Uryuu a wave as she headed towards home. “I’ll be back soon!”

* * *

Uryuu cleaned up and returned to his schoolwork and found it easier for the break. By himself, he would have probably worked until he had to go to bed and ended up horribly stiff and restless all night. Not something he could afford with everything he had to do. Exercise and meditation had cleared out all the aches and irritations, at least for a little while, and that would make it easier to get up when morning came.

One final check on the mysterious egg to make sure it was warm and comfortably cradled in the old blanket that cushioned it from the hearth stones, and then it was time for bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going camping this weekend, braving the heat to get far enough away to set off fireworks without waking the neighbors. Have a happy Fourth of July, folks! I hope you get exercise and lots of good sleep like Uryuu.

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this starts out slowly as Uryuu settles in. We'll get to the other people pestering him soon enough. For now, though, Uryuu is ignoring them while he figures things out.


End file.
